Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Lai leads DPP to historic third term

Taipei Times

Vice President William Lai (賴清德) won the presidential election last night, delivering the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a record third term in office.

It is the first time since direct presidential elections began in Taiwan in 1996 that a party has won the presidency in more than two consecutive elections.

Voting began at 8am at nearly 18,000 polling stations, with almost 20 million people eligible to cast ballots. Polls closed at 4pm, with vote-counting by hand starting almost immediately. There was no electronic, absentee, proxy or early voting.

Better alert procedures needed

Taipei Times Editorial

The government on Tuesday issued a presidential alert via mobile phone networks after China launched a satellite into orbit, with its launch vehicle passing over southern Taiwan.

The alert has been criticized for a number of reasons, including the anxiety it caused, the mistranslation of its content into English and the lack of useful instructions on what actions to take.

It was argued on social media that the alert was made to warn the public about possible falling debris from the launch vehicle. This was likely inferred from the Chinese text, which read: “If you encounter any unknown objects, report the sighting to police or fire personnel” (若發現不明物體，通報警消人員處理).

Ad brings welcome perspective

Knight Chang 張天泰

With Taiwan’s presidential election fast approaching, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) released a campaign advertisement for its presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴). The ad, on the theme of “On the Road,” has been viewed and “liked” by a huge number of people across various social media platforms.

The video starts with Lai and outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveling in a car, with Tsai at the wheel, talking about their cooperation in government over the past few years. After a while the car stops, Tsai gets out and in steps Hsiao, as Lai takes the wheel. After Tsai bids them farewell, Lai and Hsiao drive off, while talking about what direction they should take from now on.

The times they are a-changing

Taipei Times Editorial

Taiwanese-American Amy Lee submitted a letter to the Taipei Times yesterday morning. It is printed on this page. It is about Saturday’s presidential election, but more generally is about the perceptions and misperceptions overseas about Taiwan and about the right of Taiwanese not only to make their own decisions about their future, but also to take control of how they perceive their past and their identity.

Two phrases stand out: “So I grew up correcting those who mistake Taiwan for Thailand, the Burmese flag as ours,” and “As the world enjoyed our bubble milk tea, I could barely swallow mine.”

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